After investing the time and energy to create an identity and establish yourself in your particular market, it’s important to continually nurture and support your brand with consistent, compelling messages. Messages that remind your various audiences – current and prospective clients, referral sources, media sources, etc. – who you are, what you stand for and what makes you special. One of the more unique and effective ways to deliver your message is through storytelling. A strong story well told can really resonate with an audience. It can help make your business and the work you do tangible and real to prospective clients. It can also help you in earning the trust of valued referral sources. Last but not least, a powerful story is a reminder to your current clients that in choosing you they made the right decision.
You’ve heard it said many times: Everybody loves a good story. Stories have always fascinated people and they’re often more easily remembered than a list of facts. So what makes a good story for your business and brand? Three things: emotion, truth and relevance.
First, the story you tell should be more than just a factual account. It should have an emotional appeal, something that makes the person want to “lean in.” Second, the story needs to be a truthful account, drawn from real experience. And third, the story should be relevant to the person(s) receiving it. The more your audience can see themselves (or people just like them) in your story, the more relevant it is.
There is actually one more essential part of successful storytelling: simplicity. It may be tempting to present a list of examples, each illustrating one of your many strengths and assets, but effective, memorable stories are simple. Not necessarily short, but always well-focused. Steve Jobs had an interesting view on focus:
People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I'm actually as proud of the things we haven't done as the things we have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things.
Want to see your business grow and prosper? My advice: Identify and craft your singular story, tell it well and repeat it often. You’ll find it to be a great way to create new business relationships and strengthen current ones. That’s the power of storytelling.
Learn more about how WealthCounsel's practice building and legal marketing resources can help you create your compelling story to grow your law practice.
